Sen. Cory Booker
Image

New bill mandates driver duty-time pay, doubles insurance minimum

July 13, 2015
Just a couple of days after raising a ruckus about truck safety in a Senate subcommittee hearing, and about year after trying to block the hours-of-service restart rollback on the Senate floor, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) has introduced legislation containing a list of items “to modernize truck safety standards,” ranging from equipment mandates to operations management.

Just a couple of days after raising a ruckus about truck safety in a Senate subcommittee hearing, and about year after trying to block the hours-of-service restart rollback on the Senate floor, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) has introduced legislation containing a list of items “to modernize truck safety standards,” ranging from equipment mandates to operations management.

According to the summary and commentary provided by Booker’s office, the Truck Safety Act (S. 1739) provisions address:

  • Minimum insurance. Increases the minimum levels of insurance trucks must carry from $750,000 to $1.5 million. Insurance minimums have not been raised since the 1980’s and the current amounts do not provide adequate compensation for victims. The bill also increases insurance levels to keep pace with inflation, and gives the Secretary of Transportation discretion to raise minimum levels if deemed necessary.
  • Collision Avoidance Systems. Requires a rulemaking for commercial motor vehicles to have crash avoidance systems, such as forward collision warning systems and lane departure warning systems. The National Transportation Safety Board found that these advanced systems are critical to preventing rear-end collisions, thus saving lives and reducing injuries.
  • Speed Limiting Devices. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to finalize regulations requiring commercial motor vehicles to have speed limiting devices to prevent speeding. Safety advocates have estimated that the rule could prevent more than 1,000 fatal crashes.
  • Driver Compensation. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to mandate that employers compensate truck drivers for hours worked. Unfortunately, standard industry practice is for truck drivers to be paid based on miles driven and not hours worked, causing truckers to be overworked which creates perilous safety conditions on the nation’s roads.
  • Excessive Commuting. Would require a study on the effects of excessive commuting. There are concerns that far too often, truck drivers commute several hours to and from their base of operation, only adding to the grueling schedules many of them already work.

“Truck drivers work extremely long days to deliver the goods we depend on and keep our economy moving, but too often this comes at the expense of their safety and the safety of other drivers,” Booker said in statement. “We can significantly reduce the number of accidents on our nation’s highways by harnessing new technologies, and better protect victims of truck accidents by raising insurance minimums for trucks that haven’t changed in over 30 years. The Truck Safety Act will protect all drivers and make our nation’s highways safer.”

Booker is the top Democrat on the Commerce committee’s transportation subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over truck safety. The full committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday on the Senate’s proposed highway bill, a six-year program that contains a number of trucking-related provisions.

About the Author

Kevin Jones 1 | Editor

Kevin has served as editor-in-chief of Trailer/Body Builders magazine since 2017—just the third editor in the magazine’s 60 years. He is also editorial director for Endeavor Business Media’s Commercial Vehicle group, which includes FleetOwner, Bulk Transporter, Refrigerated Transporter, American Trucker, and Fleet Maintenance magazines and websites.

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of FleetOwner, create an account today!

Sponsored Recommendations

Is your fleet ready for California's Clean Truck Check program? Our guide helps you navigate CARB compliance, avoid costly fines, and keep your trucks rolling. Learn how telematics...
Boost truck leasing profits with telematics insights! Reduce maintenance costs, improve uptime, and strengthen customer relationships. Learn how data drives success.
This free guide outlines simple steps for hiring and onboarding commercial drivers while ensuring that you meet Regulation Part 391 and maintain fully compliant driver qualification...
Ready to boost fleet efficiency by up to 50%? Learn how AI-powered dispatch and next-gen tech are transforming TMS workflows, improving driver planning, and streamlining operations...